Rub the butter into the flour and oatmeal, then add the rest of the dry ingredients.Warm the syrup, then add the egg, the condensed milk and the oil to the flour mixture.Add sufficient milk to give a dropping consistency.Bake in a moderate oven 350°F for 1¼ hours.Allow to set overnight before cutting.

Soak the mixed dried fruit and glace cherries with Madeira and Rum.
Leave for a week to 10 days to marinate, turning occasionally.
Drain the fruit and liquidise in a food processor with ¼ of the liquor.
Retain the remaining liquor to ‘feed’ the cake.
In a bowl add juice and grated rind of ½ lemon, mixed spice, dark treacle, grated nutmeg,
ground almonds and vanilla and stir well.
Sift together the dry ingredients.
Cream together the butter and sugar.
Add vanilla then gradually add in the eggs and the flour mix.
Mixed the creamed egg mix with the liquidised fruits.
Bake in a lined cake tin for about 3¼ hours at 180C.
Insert a skewer into the cake. If it comes out clean, allow to cool.
Drizzle with the liquor as preferred

A Festive cake for the Christmas table can be made even without dried fruits, which are scarce or unobtainable.
Sift together 9 oz S.R. flour, large pinch of salt, 1 level teaspoonful each of mixed spice, ground ginger and cinnamon.
Cream well 6 oz margarine with 6 oz soft brown sugar; into this beat 3 eggs (shell or reconstituted) one at a time.
Warm slightly 1 tablespoonful Black Treacle (if unobtainable use Syrup), add to creamed mixture beating well. Next fold in flour lightly.

To make the pastry: rub the flour, butter and sugar together with the orange zest.
Bind together with the water, knead a little and leave to rest.
Line an 18cm loose-bottom tin with the pastry.
Bake blind at 200°C for 15 minutes.
Reduce the oven down to 180°C.

To make the filling: cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Melt the chocolate, then add to the butter and sugar.
Add the cream cheese and the eggs and mix well.
Turn into the pastry case and bake for 30-35 minutes.

To make the ice cream: pour the cream into a saucepan with the vanilla pod and bring to a simmer.
Remove from the heat and scrape the seeds into the cream and remove the rest. Leave to cool.
Whisk the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the cream.
Transfer to an ice cream maker and whisk until frozen, then transfer to a container and freeze.

To make the sauce: place the liqueur in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
Stir in the coffee powder making sure it is well dissolved. Add the sugar and stir well.
Reduce the heat and simmer until it is the consistency of a thick syrup.
Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

To serve: drizzle the coffee sauce onto a white plate, add a slice of cheesecake and a scoop of ice cream.
Dust with icing sugar and decorate with a slice of orange on the cheesecake and a coffee bean on the ice cream.